In Other Words 10-15-10

A Tragic Week In The Valley

when tragedy strikes close to home, it is even more amplified than if it is at a distance.
Holtvillites got to work only to find that a longtime employee of the city had gunned down his fiance’ and then taken his own life.
What made this tragedy even more senseless is that nobody saw it coming. They were a couple that lived in Imperial and had a 10 year old son. They both had good jobs and were well-liked by their co-workers.
So what went wrong? Apparently the couple had been quarreling and she was ready to part ways with her longtime live-in boyfriend.
That caused him to snap, or so the story goes, and that led to the needless deaths of two people and a life-shattering experience for a young boy.
If only he had talked to somebody about his anger. And about his “solution.” Perhaps all of this could have been avoided. Unfortunately, we live in an age where communication is the best it can be, but is used only to hurt others.
It’s time for all of us to stop and look around at the people close to us. Do we really know them? Do they know us?
When was the last time you had a neighbor over? When was the last time you really talked to someone about what you were feeling?
It’s time for all of us to put aside our petty differences and get out with people. That way we will know someone out there cares about us and that we won’t have to take the extreme measures that were demonstrated last week. Drop the hate. Drop the negative thoughts. And try, really try, to get along with those you have contact with everyday. Then maybe we will have a better world.
THE VALLEY ALSO LOST A MOVER AND SHAKER who loved the local political scene and worked to improve it on a regular basis. Fernando “Nene” Torres was laid to rest last weekend after passing away a week before that.
I had just been talking with him at a party in Calexico for the establishment of a new TV station that has an office in the city.
It came as quite a shock that he had died, especially since he was only a year older than me. I remember him at city council meetings and as a man who always questioned the decisions of government. Sometimes he was right. Sometimes he was wrong. But he always had an opinion and wasn’t afraid to voice it.
He will be missed at City Hall in Calexico and throughout the community.
I hope I don’t have to do any more remembrances for quite some time.
ANYBODY OUT THERE WHO DOESN’T THINK healthcare reform is necessary should take a look at the Medicare Prescription Plan.
This plan has so many holes in it that it’s a wonder it has any benefit for anybody.
This was dropped on the people by the George W. Bush administration and leaves users with a built in huge gap in coverage.
That gap amounts to $1,850 you have to pay out of your own pocket for prescription drugs.
The new healthcare bill corrects this, so you don’t get struck with the gap. After you pass $4,550. in drug expenses it returns to the normal plan for medication. But that $1,850 of drug fees you have to pay is in addition to the monthly charges that you are billed for through the insurance carrier.
If you want a real shock to your system, go to the pharmacy and have him tell you the bill for your medication, which was $35.00 the week before you entered the gap is now $190.00!
This was done by the Bush Administration to appease the drug companies who didn’t think they were making enough money without it.
Thanks, George, for this legacy to the Senior Citizens in the country. Anybody out there who misses George can have him back with my complements. Don’t be fooled. If you want to vote back in this kind of nonsense to Congress, you’re going make things worse for everyone. And you won’t have any more money in your pocket either.
Don’t be fooled by the Tea Party, whose source of money to operate is finally under question.
They would destroy the very fabric of the country with their extreme behavior and leave you with no benefits from government at all. Then you could beg for your health care from a rich, overbearing aristocracy.
Use some caution if you vote in November. Nothing is what it seems and too many candidates don’t have your best interests in mind.